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Listening
to her parents will not be good enough for 10-month-old Katherine
Sung. Her father would like her to also listen to the radio.
Korean radio that is.
"It's
a matter of understanding culture," says her father Jae-yong
Sung, 31. The native of Seoul, South Korea, now living in
Queens, has been in the United States for 10 years. He acknowledges
that America is now his permanent home, but like many of the
400,000 Koreans living in the New York metropolitan area,
the city's only all Korean station provides him with a link
to both his old home and the happenings of the Korean community
in New York.
Radio
Seoul, WZRC-AM 1480, broadcasts news and music in Korean
24 hours a day. And with an estimated 150,000 listeners, business
is brisk.
With
so many Koreans in the area, there are no shortages of news
outlets. New York's Korean community is serviced with five
daily newspapers, more than 20-weekly magazines and several
cable-television stations. Despite the competition, the radio
station has found a comfortable position in the marketplace.
"The
Korean society is always very busy," says Kook Bae Lee, Radio
Seoul's news editor. He points out that the high employment
rate and strong work ethic of the community does not allow people
much time to absorb the newspaper or settle down in front of
the television.
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| Radio
Seoul News Editor Kook Bae Lee. |
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People
in their shops or in their cars can easily turn on Radio Seoul
to get caught up on the day's events, he says.
"Many
Koreans can't listen to 1010 WINS, they can't understand it,"
says Lee. But even those who speak flawless English sometimes
prefer to tune in to Radio Seoul instead of American stations.
Narah Jhung, 26, has lived in the United States all her life
and is fluent in both English and Korean. Growing up, her
father would listen to the station constantly to get the news
from South Korea, she says. "I think there was some nostalgia
involved," she says, "it's natural that people want to connect
with where they have been." Her father's desire to stay updated
on his homeland rubbed off on her. He enjoyed listening to
the news programs, and she liked tuning into the Korean music,
and in the process learned things about the Korean culture
that could not be taught in schools or hanging out with friends.
"Koreans view things differently than other ethnic groups,"
says Jhung.
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Jae-yong
Sung and Katherine listening to Radio Seoul.
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Korean
advertisers view the station's audience as big money. According
to the station, 90 percent of their advertisers are Korean
companies. Not surprisingly, much of the final 10 percent
of advertisers are made up of long-distance telephone companies
offering competing rates for New York City's Koreans to keep
in touch with relatives in Asia.
Jae-yong
Sung already has Katherine keeping in touch with a land she
has never visited. While she sits in front of the TV watching
programs such as "Teletubbies" and "Barney" the hum of Radio
Seoul can be heard in the background.
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